Resolve Of A Hero
by Animegx43
Summary: A new hero arrives in Paris, one with a Kwami that has a rough history with Fu and the determination to reach his goal, no matter the cost. Still, Ladybug's own determination is to protect her home and her friends from any threats to their lives and hearts, be it from Hawkmoth, or even from a kwami.
1. A Bold, Bull Hero

Rarely is anything in the word ever in black and white. Some people try to simplify things, even if it seems obvious. Such as how a hero is someone who do things for the greater good, and a villain is one with nothing but selfish intentions. It can be a mistake to assume that there's no in-between. The highway to hell is often paved with good intentions.

Granted, it's not always that complicated. When the Bank of France is being held up by armed robbers, anyone would know what must be done: Heroes must save the day while the villains must be stopped, and Paris is especially lucky to have heroes like ladybug and Cat Noir, saving their home city from any threat, be it the villainous Hawkmoth or a group of gunmen.

These gunmen in particular were small in numbers, but well organized and very dangerous, carrying assault rifles and wearing body armour. They planned the robbery very well, and even took into account the possibility of Ladybug and Cat Noir coming to top them. What they failed to consider was Ladybug and Cat Noir...going through the air ducts.

"I can only see two hostages." Cat Noir whispered. "But I only see one robber. Isn't there five of them?"

"That's because we can't see a thing from up here." Ladybug answered. "How did you talk me into sneaking in through the vents?"

"Hey, we got in, didn't we? And I don't think we've ever been closer." Cat said he crawled closer towards Ladybug, where he picked a bad time to flirt with Ladybug.

"Yes, but I can't even use my Lucky Charm in such narrow space. And I'm a little surprised that no one heard us. I'm sure this shouldn't actually be working, I mean I don't think movies actually do something this stupid."

"If you two lovebirds are done talking, we have still have a crisis on hand."

As Ladybug rolled eyes over the comment, she pulled out the walkie-talkie she and Cat Noir brought in to respond to Officer Roger on the other end. "We're here. We're directly above the room where the hostages are. And...and I'm spotting at least twenty hostages, but that's not even counting the bank tellers."

There was a silence from the walkie-talkie. Roger was clearly thinking about the situation carefully since a lot of lives were in danger. "Okay, listen. There's too many hostages to rescue one-by-one like we hoped, so you have to take out the robbers. To earn the boss's trust, I'll tell him that he can have an officer as a new hostage. And while he comes to het him..."

"They'll be a blind spot for me and Cat Noir to swoop in and apprehend them all."

After another moment of silence, Roger responded. "Sounds good. Good luck Ladybug and Cat Noir, because we only got one chance. I'm putting a lot of faith into you two." After that, Ladybug put the walkie-talkie down.

"That's pretty bold, Milady." Cat Noir said. "We can definitely make this work, but the guy that has to be handed over to the leader...he's the one who's REALLY gambling here."

"Then we just have rig the dice. The police are trusting us that we'll pull it off on our end, so we have to trust them too. I guarantee you that-the boss is moving! Get ready!"

Just as Ladybug said, they spotted the leader of the robbers getting off of his phone and made his way to the room's exit to pick up the new hostage. With one less person in the room, there was finally a blind spot that the heroes could exploit. They made their move the instant the boss was gone.

They waited briefly for another one of the robbers to walk beneath the vents, and as soon as he did, he was grabbed by Ladybug's yo-yo and flung straight to the ceiling, only making so much as a whisper until after he was several feet in the air. The entire act happened so quickly that even the hostages didn't notice he went missing. What everyone did notice was the thud that was made after the man was gagged, tied up with plastic handcuffs, and dropped to the floor.

Shocked from what they saw, one of the other robbers ran to his friend to see what happened to him. This proved to have been a big mistake. After he was below the vents, Ladybug made her appearance, leaping down and landing right on top of the second robber. Though she planned on tying him up as well, she accidently knocked him out cold. She looked at him slightly embarrassed for a moment, but she had to stay focus.

"Oh crap, it's Ladybug!" One of the last two robbers shouted, aiming his gun at her.

Cat Noir then jumped down, sadden by the robber's reaction. "AND Cat Noir. This is why I wish we were called Cat Noir and Ladybug. People always forget about me."

The hostage cheered as their heroes came to save them while the robbers began to panic. One of them pointed their rifle at the cheering crown, hoping to silence them one way or another, but as soon as he turned his attention to them, Ladybug lassoed the gun with her yo-yo and ripped it out of his hands. Unarmed, he was left defenceless as Ladybug jumped in to apprehend the criminal.

Trying to help his friend, the last remaining robber pulled the trigger in rapid succession to try and mow down Ladybug, but that was when Cat Noir jumped in, protecting Ladybug by spinning his staff so fast that it deflected the bullets like a shield. The gunner quickly ran out of bullets, and as he tried to reload, he was left open for a finishing move.

"CATACLYSM!"

Before the magazine could even be attached, the robber's assault rifle had completely disintegrated in his hands. Unarmed, outmatched, and embarrassed, the final robber dropped the magazine and raised his hands in the air, surrendering to Cat Noir, just as Ladybug finished tying up his partner.

At that time, a voice spoke up from Ladybug's walkie-talkie. It wasn't Roger, but they were certain that it was another cop. "Ladybug? Cat Noir? The leader has taken the new hostage. He's heading back your way,"

"First to take down the boss wins 20 euros?" Cat Noir suggested.

"Oh, it's on." Ladybug answered.

A few seconds later, the boss had returned with the hostage he was promised, and the heroes were shocked to find that Officer Roger Raincomplix himself was said hostage, but he kept a brave face on. When the two of them apeared, the boss was surprised to find that the entire operation was a bust, with his team either own the floor or out of his sight. He was the only one left, and he immediately pointed his handgun away from Roger and aimed at the heroes.

Ladybug and Cat Noir were both about to throw their weapons at the final robber, but were robbed of their chance. With the boss's guard down, Roger broke free from his captive, grabbed the wrist of the arm holding the gun, grabbed his back, and with a quick throw, he had pinned the mastermind of the robbery down to the ground with one swift move.

Ladybug was impressed with Roger's skills to take down his captive at a moment's notice. Cat Noir was slightly disappointed, since he wasn't able to do anything cool to save him.

"Huh. I guess __he__ wins the bet. But don't tell him." Cat Noir said. He then turned to Roger with a thumbs up. "Great work."

After cuffing up the leader, Roger walked up to Ladybug and Cat Noir and interrupted their usual 'pound it' moment. "What are you two doing? What happened to the fifth robber?"

Ladybug and Cat Noir looked at each other with puzzled expressions, before Cat Noir answering the question. "Well, you have the boss right there, we tied up two of them together over there, the first guy we dropped on the floor back there, and...uhh...oh..."

The second robber who was taken out, the one who Ladybug landed on after jumping out of the vents, was gone. With all that had gone on in barely a minute, they failed to take the time to tie up robber that was presumed to have been knocked out. The one consolation to the blunder was that none of the hostages were taken.

"Remember. You were the one who landed on him." Cat Noir said, who tried to avoid blame.

"After him!" Ladybug ordered.

Leaving the hostages and tied up robbers to Roger and the rest of the police, Ladybug and Cat Noir rushed out of the bank to hunt down the escaped criminal. As he was someone willing to take hostages in a situation he was in control of, so there was no telling what he would do in a panic.

Capturing the final robber would not go as smoothly as the rest of his group, as he already started making his getaway by the time Ladybug and Cat Noir made it outside, having driven away from the bank in an armoured car. After the whole operation crashed and burned because of the heroes, the driver was completely rattled and careless, driving the vehicle at high speeds and made several sharp turns that narrowly avoided hitting civilians.

Even Cat Noir, who was the more reckless and carefree of the to, understood how dangerous the situation had gotten. "This is bad." He said. "People could get hurt if crashes that thing or something. Any ideas, Milady?"

Before she even thought of an idea, Ladybug turned for a sign on what to do. She took her yo-yo, flung in the air, and shouted... "LUCKY CHARM!"

After a few seconds of the yo-yo spinning, it created the item that Ladybug was going to need. A pair of red and black...wooden planks.

"Was hoping for a sign that read a little more clear." A disgruntled Ladybug said. "Never mind, let's just catch that truck!"

On Ladybug's command, the duo began to chase after the armoured car. After jumping over the first building, something came to Cat Noir's attention. "Don't suppose THAT guy could give us a hand, could he?"

After she raised an eyebrow at her partner, Ladybug turned to the city and looked ahead. While her focus was on the runaway armoured car, she looked further and found another individual with their eyes on the vehicle, one with red armour and a very bulky build. Ladybug was worried that one of Hawkmoth's supervillains had appeared at the worst time.

Fortunately, it quickly became apparent that he was someone who wanted to help, as he jumped from the rooftop and onto the road, making a three-point landing to maintain balance, though he left cracks in the road beneath him from the impact, and then began walking over to the armoured car as it rushed towards him.

The driver was still scared after the failed bank heist, and without thinking, he started to drive even faster, pitting both the driver and the stranger in more danger. Ladybug and Cat Noir were scared of what would happen if a vehicle that large were to crash at such speeds.

Still, the stranger pressed onward at the same sluggish pace. Then, as the armoured car approached, the stranger slammed his fists in front of his face, and shouted... "BULLDOZER!"

Upon shouting his chant, the stranger glowed with orange energy as he walked toward the armoured car. Right as vehicle was about to ram the stranger, he firmly stepped forward, held his arms out to his sides, and grabbed the vehicle as it made contact.

Ladybug and Cat Noir feared the worst when they saw the armoured car ram into the stranger, as did many of the bystanders who watched it all happen. But, much to everyone's surprise, there was no crash. Instead, the large, fast moving vehicle was lifted into the air as if it was it was already parked. They didn't quite know what happened. but after the bystanders realized that the vehicle was stopped, they began to admire their new hero's strength.

"Sweet. New teammate. A friend of yours?" Cat Noir asked.

"I don't recognize that miraculous power, but if he saves lives, I'm not going to question it...yet." Ladybug answered, as she showed both praise and concern for the hero's actions.

The concerns Ladybug had though would quickly escalate after what happened next. After tossing the armoured car down, dropping it to it's side so it couldn't simply drive off again, he drove his hand through the bullet-resistant windshield , grabbed the escaped robber by his leg, and pulled the criminal out, holding the man upside down, crushing his leg with a mighty grip.

The robber had let out a sharp scream, but the new hero showed no pity as tightened his grip further. "What kind of trouble did you cause that made you deserve this? Was it worth it?"

The respect Ladybug and Cat Noir had for the new guy was short lived, as the cruelty of the new 'hero' was not appreciated. Seeing the sight urged them to make a dash to the crash site.

"HEY! Drop him!" Ladybug ordered as she approached.

The new hero turned his slowly as Ladybug and Cat Noir arrived, caring little at first who was bossing him around, but after recognizing them as the heros Paris was knwon for, he became interested in them. He then tossrf the robber to the side like an empty can walk walked to them to speak with them.

At this point, Ladybug and Cat Noir finally got a proper look at their possible new recruit. Ladybug in particular was quite intimidated by larger, bulkier body he had. Even if he wasn't slightly hunched over, he was still a good foot taller than Ladybug. Where as she and Cat Noir had skin tight outfits, the new hero was wearing red plated armour. Neither his arms or legs were armoured, instead having black tights covering the skin, he did have armoured boots and gauntlets. Upon a close look, the arms and legs were shockingly skinny considering the size of the armor.

The only part of his outfit that looked like it had any breathing room was his helmet since his mouth and eyes were visible. Looking at his helmet, Ladybug noticed the thick, curved, yellow bull horns pointing up from his head. At first, Ladybug thought the hero was using the ox miraculous, but the entire colour scheme would've been all wrong from what she knew about it. As she had suspected, the miraculous he was using was one she had never seen before.

Regardless of what powers he was using, Ladybug couldn't condone his actions. "That is NOT how you treat people! Not even criminals. What were you thinking?"

"Well, he might 've deserved it a little bit." Cat Noir answered, earning him an even dirtier look than what Ladybug gave the new guy. Afraid of Ladybug, he turned and asked a question as well. "So, uhh... who are you anyway? The Red Bull? The Battle Ox? OOOH! How about the Crimson Tauro?"

While the new hero was given several questions to answer regarding who he was and what he was doing, he dodged them both so he could instead asked one of his own. "You two are Ladybug and Chat Noir if I recall. Are you both really miraculous holders?"

"And what if we are? Cat Noir asked.

"I'm looking for a man name Wang Fu." The bull hero claimed. "He's...a friend of a friend. I'm not from around here, so I was hoping one of you would be kind enough to show me where he lives if you know him. "

Both Ladybug and Cat Noir were caught off guard by the fact that the new hero knew about Master Fu, the guardian of the miraculouses. But, just because he knew about Master Fu, neither of Paris's heroes thought it was a good idea to tell him straight up where Fu lived. From new hero's first impression, he couldn't be trusted.

"Sorry, but, we've never heard of him." Ladybug answered. "Paris is a big city after all. Try looking up a phone book."

The new hero was disappointed, but fell for the lie and accepted the idea. For as intimidating as he presented himself, Ladybug at least acknowledged that he was trying to be as civil and reasonable as he possible, so it made her feel a little guilty for lying with Cat Noir.

The bull hero still had thoughts on his mind though. After turning his attention in the direction of the criminal he had apprehended, he quickly reached his arm out and grabbed something from the air.

"One more question while I'm here. where can I find the person who made...this?" He then presented to Ladybug and Cat Noir with what he had grabbed; an akuma. Freshly made from Paris's most infamous supervillain, Hawkmoth, and prepared to akumatize anyone with negative emotions."

"Whoa! Where did you grab that?" Cat Noir asked.

The bull hero only had to nudge his head towards the criminal to make the answer clear. Between the failed bank robbery, the panicked escape, and the leg crushing, the bull hero most certainly saved the city from yet another supervillain attack.

"Answer me. Please. Where is Hawkman?"

Ladybug didn't have to lie to the second question, but the truth was something she was less eager to give away. "It's Hawkmoth. And we don't know. Since becoming heroes, we've made no progress in finding him. Our goal is to finally find him someday"

"But we HAVE defeated every single one of his akumas." Cat Noir boasted. "In fact, if you could Ladybug have that one, she can purify that one."

This news, however, angered the bull hero. Rather than handing over the akuma, he closed his hand and squeezed it as hard as he could, crushing the akuma with his grasp. The sight of the action horrified Ladybug and Cat Noir, but it was after the bull hero released his grip that really shocked them.

The poor butterfly that became an akuma became nothing more than pieces of it's former beauty as it's shredded remains fluttered towards the ground in pieces. Ladybug would always de-evilize the akuma so as to not cause anymore trouble. But to see it not even get a chance to attack, or even be saved; that broke Ladybug's heart.

"Thank you for your time."

Ladybug had other questions, but the bull hero had finished asking his. And so, he leaped towards nearby rooftop and made his exit. Ladybug was tempted to chase after him, but because she had already used her Lucky Charm, she simply didn't have the time to go after him. On top of that, there was still the matter of the bank robber who the bull hero managed catch for them.

"Damn it! I think that guy broke my leg." The injured robber cried, unable to move and on the verge of tears.

"Well, he's definitely not going anywhere." Cat Noir said. "The cops should be here any time now, so we should probably get going before we transform back."

Leaving was obvious idea, but Ladybug wasn't ready yet. Since she still had the two pieces of wood from her Lucky Charm, she decided to put them to good use, as she believed the police would take a while before they could catch up to them.

"Let's not take any chances and bring him over to them. Let me borrow you're tail really quick." Ladybug ordered.

Because of the failed robbery, much how Ladybug predicted, the police were still focused keeping order at the actual crime scene, ensuring that none of the hostages or bystanders were injured, and kept a close eye on the robbers that didn't try to make an escape. To any other city, it would seem irresponsible to not chase after the one who escaped, but they made the wise choice to trust Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Sure enough, the two of them had escorted the escaped robber back to the crime scene, despite his broken leg. This was made possible through some quick thinking on Ladybug's behalf, using the wood from her lucky charm, her yo-yo, and Cat Noir's staff to make a crude, but secure splint for damaged leg, allowing them to safely escort the robber to the police and get him the proper medical attention. An act of kindness that only the robber would notice.

With that, the day was officially saved. The robbers were arrested, no one else was harmed, and as an added bonus, no one was akumatized by Hawkmoth. On any other day, that would be a very progressive day. But, with the appearance of the new bull hero, Ladybug had nothing but concerns. His help was appreciated, but his actions were very careless.

Regardless of what happened, it didn't stop Ladybug and Cat Noir from finally doing their usually "Pound it!" routine, allowing them both to leave the scene on a happy note.

"Hope another bank gets robbed soon!" Cat Noir shouts as he leaps into the distance.

Ladybug shook her head, smiling at how cute Cat Noir's wish for more crime was, which only sounded disturbing in hindsight. "What a bad kitty".

After making her own exit from the crime scene, swinging several blocks away to a street with less attention, she said out loud "Tikki, spots off!", and returned to her civilian identity as Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Unfortunately, her duties as a hero were not quite done.

"Okay, Tikki. I think we've earn the rest of the day off to ourselves." Marinette said.

"WE HAVE TO SEE MASTER FU! NOW!" Tikki screamed.

"Tikki, shush!" Marinette said loudly in a panic. Lucky for her, no one was nearby to hear her or Tikki, but they made sure to speak quietly just in case. "What's wrong? You don't think that guy is out to get Master Fu, is he?"

"He might. I mean, maybe not him specifically, but...It's a really long story and even I don't know all of the details, but since the bull miraculous is being used, Master Fu will want to know immidiately."

"So he really does have a miraculous? Where did he get it?"

Tikki couldn't answer the question. Not because she didn't want, but because had no clue. What little Tikki knew would not have been helpful without proper context. The poor kwami was very frustrated with herself since she couldn't answer any questions without raising more. She could only think of one thing to say.

"What's important to know is that Kuumo is now in Paris." Tikki said with great anguish, not even looking directly at Marinette when she said. She appeared as though she was sick to her stomach, but despite that, she finished what she had to say, and said it while looking Marinette right in the eyes. "And I fear what he has to say after all this time."

* * *

**Author's Notes: Finally getting back into writing, and I've been planning this story out for quite a while. Pretty excited actually.**

**First time writing with superheroes, so I'm hoping I can deliver a good suspenseful story. **


	2. Kuumo, Kwami of Resolution

"Master Fu? Are you here?"

Just as Tikki asked, Marinette rushed to Master Fu's home as soon as she could. With the sudden appearance of the bull superhero and his miraculous, Tikki insisted that Fu needed to be informed ASAP, and in turn, she could learn about the new miraculous. But, Wang Fu was by no means an oblivious old man, as he was practically waiting for Marinette to arrive.

"Marinette, is what I heard true? Has the bull miraculous appeared?" Master Fu asked.

The fact that Master Fu had already known about the bull miraculous came as a big surprise to Marinette, but what really startled her was his tone of his voice. "What? H-how did you...?"

"The internet. You kids post things so fast nowadays. Just...look!" Master Fu said as he walked over to his laptop, which had a video on pause. After he pushed a button, it began to refresh. "Look at what I just found."

"Radiant...carefree...dreamy..."

"NO! Not that ad again! UGH!" Fu shouted as he looked ready to smash his laptop into a pieces

Luckily, before Fu could get that angry, his own trusted kwami, Wayzz, did what he could to calm him down. "Master, the ad is skippable. Just take a deep breath and try to relax."

Marinette was by scared by how stressed Master Fu was. She's seen him upset about losing the butterfly and peacock miraculous, but it was always out of sadness because he wasn't able to save them. The frustration she sensed from Master Fu made it clear that something else entirely happened with the bull miraculous.

After a few seconds, the ad ended, and the video begun to play. "Hello Paris. Alya here and boy do we have a story here on the on the Ladyblog. There was just a bank robbery here at the Bank of France, but thanks to Ladybug and Cat Noir, our allowances are untouched. But after a quick interview, I've learned that they may have some new back up."

Marinette was immediately annoyed by how quickly Cat Noir had spread the word. "Damn it, I told him not to do anymore interviews alone."

"While Ladybug sadly wasn't with Cat Noir when I found him, he told me that we have the new superhero, Taurus Red, to thank for catching a dangerous man that escaped. Some generous witness have even shared with me photos they took of our new local friend. One even recorded him stopping the criminal's getaway."

"It is without question." Master Fu said as he paused the video. "The armor he wore and the way he stopped that truck...that was the miraculous of resolution. The power that can make anyone who uses it an unstoppable force. We need to get it back."

"But the man who's using it might have saved lives when he appeared." Marinette argued as she gave the new hero the benefit of the doubt. "Sure, he's a bit...rough...but I'm sure if we talked to him-"

"The man using the miraculous isn't who I'm worried about!" Fu snapped. "It's Kuumo who could be dangerous!"

That time, Fu's anger didn't just frighten Marinette, but Tikki and Wayzz as well. The kwami's at least understood why he was upset, but to see him direct his frustration at one of his closest allies was something they never thought they'd ever see. Once more, Master Fu tried to calm himself with a deep breath after he realized he was scaring his friends.

"I'm sorry. This is something that has lingered at the back of my mind for a long time now, and I'm not sure if I made yet another mistake all of those years ago. Truth be told, me and Kuumo didn't leave on good terms."

"So, you just miss an old friend you had an argument with?" Marinette asked, still someone startled from what she saw moments before.

"Sort of. You see, back when I was still young, after the-"

THUD!

Just then, a loud quake was heard from outside, catching everyone by surprise, sounding as if anvil had been dropped from the sky. During the brief period of silence that followed, they all remained silent to listen to what might've been out there, and from there, they faintly heard footsteps in the distance.

"Wait here." Master Fu ordered.

Taking a peak out the window, Master Fu got a good look at the source of the crash. Much to his surprise, it was the bull hero, the one Alya called Taurus Red, who was walking around and looking at the street signs. It became clear that he was looking for Fu's shop.

"Marinette, you and Tikki need to hide. I'm going to invite him in."

Marinette didn't entirely agree with what Master Fu wanted to do, but because Taurus Red was just outside, there was no time to argue, so she and Tikki rushed to the back door and hid on the other side. Rather than closing it all the way though, she left a crack open so she and Tikki could watch and listen to what would happen next. Tikki probably would've scolded her for spying, but she wanted to watch what would happen too.

Once Marinette left the room, Master Fu opened the glass doors and took a step outside to greet his guest. Once Taurus Red saw Fu step outside, he began to walk over to meet him.

Taurus Red was the one who spoke up first. "Excuse me sir, but I'm looking for a man name Wang Fu. Do you know of him?

"Right this way, young man." Fu answered.

Marinette, Tikki, and even Wayzz all felt nervous as they watched Taurus Red walk in since there was no telling what he would do once the doors closed. The kwamis were merely fearing the unknown, but Marinette got a front row view of the brutality he was willing to inflict. She agreed to stay hidden, but kept alert in case something went wrong.

When Taurus Red raised his fist upward, Marinette feared that he was preparing an attack. She wanted to respond immediately, but by Fu's request, she forced herself to stand down and give the guest a chance and not assume anything.

"Kuumo, cease charging

Upon his command, the armour Taurus Red wore quickly began to vanish into the miraculous, a yellow, horn-shaped gem sewn into a red wristband, worn on Taurus Red's right arm. Once the armour was gone, Marinette was shocked to see that the large-built hero was in fact a skinny young man. He was still taller than she was, but the size of the armour really showed.

Once the young man took a seat on a pillow on the ground, Marinette got a quick look at his face. His outfit was very plain, wearing blue jeans and a gray hoodie, something that really didn't stand out much. His face was a bit more memorable though, with short, black, messy hair as if he didn't even try to brush it. From the colour of his skin, she assumed the young man was Japanese, as he reminded her of another Japanese friend, Kagami.

After the young man took his seat, his kwami finally made it's appearance, flying out of the wristband and appeared before Master Fu, who was sitting across from both of them. The red, yellow horned bull kwami, which looked almost as it was a cute little devil, had returned.

"Kuumo, it's been so long." Master Fu said as he greeted the kwami with a small bow.

"Hello, Fu." Kuumo answered with a greeting that wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as Master Fu's. "But by the quantic universe, how are you not dead yet?"

"Hey now, I'm turning 189. I'm only just getting old." Fu said with a chuckle. This was followed by a disappointed sigh as Kuumo didn't so much as smirked at his little joke. Master Fu tried his best to lighten the mood, but it didn't work. "So how were you able to find me? We never did stay in touch."

"I made sure I paid as close attention to the media, and during my little journey, I learned about the appearance of the villain Hawkmoth, who was clearly using Nooroo's powers. And with Tikki and Plagg's powers being made famous as well, I assumed you, or at least a descendant, would be here in Paris as well. As for how I found your place, we looked up your some of your alias's that I still remembered in a phonebook."

In the next room, Marinette cursed Cat Noir's name under her breath as Tikki tried to cover her mouth, so neither of them would be heard. Luckily, neither Kuumo or his holder was looking at the door she was hiding behind.

"I'm just glad to finally see you return." Wayzz said, who tried to keep the same optimism Fu tried to have. "The others have been worried as you haven't visited our box in such a long time. Stompp in particular has missed you dearly."

For a brief moment, Kuumo sounded almost happy. "Yes, I do miss my fellow cattle kwami, though I certainly miss all of their company. However, I especially miss my best friend...Nooroo."

At that moment, Marinette took notice at how different Kuumo was from the other kwamis, as well as the stark contrasts between him and his miraculous holder. The human came off as a intimidating looking man, even without the hero armour, and yet, ever since he first spoke with Master Fu, he had been very polite and respectful, as he had not said a single word since he undid his transformation.

On the other hand, Kuumo, despite his appearance making him look like a tiny devil, was just as cute as any other kwami, complete with a high-pitched voice. And yet, she felt a severe hatred and bitterness that she had only ever seen from akumatized victims. He was a kwami unlike any she ever met. One that was not a friend by default.

"I'll cut straight to the chase." Kuumo said as he started floating around in the room. "My travels only confirmed what I initially believed. Your kind has no right to wield our powers."

"And by his kind, you mean...?" Wayzz asked.

Kuumo was briefly disgusted by Wayzz for making him answer. "Humans!"

And with that one word, both Marinette and Tikki felt sick to their stomachs. The aura the bull kwami had was a distinct hatred for humanity, which made Marinette completely forget about his cuteness. Tikki felt obligated to whisper to Marinette. "I didn't know he felt that way."

"For thousands of years, humanity has been using our powers for the 'greater good', yet they seemed to have degenerated over the years. Fighting wars for petty reasons, enslaving themselves like animals, why I even recently learned that humans found ways to profit off of the Black Death back when it happened."

Wayzz decided to play the devil's advocate. "To be fair, Toxx was the one responsible for that plague all on her own."

"My point exactly! That's one prime example of how our powers killed so many humans, and yet years later, none of you think that maybe, just maybe, you mortals shouldn't be using our powers."

Both Master Fu and Wayzz did what they could to try and talk sense into Kuumo, but he at least made some fair points for why he would as upset as he was, since neither of them were able to deny his claims. Even Marinette started to sympathize with Kuumo to a degree. It made her wonder what the poor kwami had gone through to make him resent humans so much.

"This feels like the last conversation we had all those years ago." Master Fu said. "I fear I now know why you really came here."

Kuumo chuckled, since Master Fu made a corrected assumption. "At least you're learning, Fu. I hope."

From that point on, everything that Fu and Kuumo would discuss was something that had only been between the two of them. Neither Tikki nor Wayzz fully knew what happened between Fu and Kuumo, so they would be in the same boat as Marinette when they listened to what the bull kwami had to say.

"After hearing how little process your chosen, Ladybug and Cat Noir, have made with rescuing Nooroo and Desuu, I thought I'd return to once again offer my suggestion for rescuing them. One that will secure their freedom, so as they never suffer another 150 years of isolation and captivity."

Master Fu slammed his hands on the floor with rage. "I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!" This sudden outrage from Fu even made Wayzz back off in shock. After getting a glance at the scared turtle kwami, Master Fu immediately regretted the way he snapped at Kuumo. He was only able to imagine how Marinette and Tikki took it.

"He has the right to fear you." Kuumo said, being the only one to have any composer. "Because of him, it is ultimately you humans who gets to decide what we can and can't do. It's this curse that prevents Nooroo and Desuu from simply returning to us. The fact that Fu gave me that luxury is nothing but a miracle. We are otherwise slaves to your kind!"

As Kuumo continued on with his ranting, Master Fu's patience diminish more and more. He wanted to say something along the lines of 'I regret giving you that freedom', but he knew that would've done nothing but prove Kuumo's point, as well as frighten Wayzz, Tikki, and Marinette even more.

"You've only confirmed it, Wang Fu." Kuumo said. "We can no longer trust Ladybug and Cat Noir with the only two of us that can actually save our friends. We need their power, and your snot-nosed brats are no more trustworthy than even Hawkmoth."

"YOU SON OF A-"

Unable to contain herself, Tikki, in an ironic twist, blew her cover and flew straight at Kuumo, pounding her stubby arms into his chest in a fit of rage. Tikki was always the one that would act the voice of reason for Marinette, so to see her attack Kuumo was something not even the other kwamis had ever seen.

"MY MIRACULOUS OWNER IS THE MOST TRUSTED FRIEND I'VE EVER HAD! WE ALL MISS NOOROO AND DESUU GREATLY AND WE'RE TRYING OUR BEST! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE'VE HAD TO GO THROUGH ALL THIS TIME!"

Tikki's outrage came to as a much bigger surprise to Kuumo than the simple fact that Tikki appeared out of nowhere in the first place. After taking a moment, he realized the simple fact that Tikki was right in front of him. "Tikki...than that means that Ladybug..."

While the cover was blown, Marinette still slammed the door shut to keep herself hidden so her identity couldn't be revealed. Still, Kuumo's miraculous holder figured out that Ladybug was in the building as well and quickly stood up to prepare for a fight."

"Kuumo, charge-"

But before he could actually transformed, Kuumo flew up and raised his arm up, signaling his holder not to transform. The young man seemed confused at first, but he nonetheless followed Kuumo's orders and sat back down without any objections.

"If Ladybug was as smart as Ken here and knew her place, maybe I would've given her another chance." Kuumo admitted. "But Tikki, you should know that we can end our problem right now if we cut the middle man and save our friends using only our own powers. All we need is you...and Plagg."

This was something Marinette did at least understand well. It's been said that when one combines the powers of the miraculous of creation and destruction, ultimate power manifests in the form of a single wish, granting a person anything they desire. However. there's a catch to it, for making such a wish would require a sacrifice in responds. If Kuumo's plan was to wish for Nooroo and Desuu's freedom, it would likely mean losing two more kwamis. Even if that wasn't the actual wish, Marinette agreed that a wish like that would be a mistake.

"That's a terrible idea." Tikki said. "Don't you know the risks of using our powers like that?"

"Tikki, Tikki, Tikki..." Kuumo said with disappointment. "I fear these humans have made you miss the big picture. We've had the power to save our friends all this time, but it's a chance we only have one of. And the only reason we don't take it is because of these tool throwing monkeys."

Everything that Kuumo was saying was disturbing to Tikki, especially since he had the nerve to insult all of humanity directly in front of her own human partner, one whom he cares deeply for. What made her more confused than angry though was the simple fact that Kuumo's partner continued to listen in without making so much as a disgruntled cough.

Tikki turned to Master Fu, hoping he would've spoken up to Kuumo's comment. But he stayed as silent and Kuumo's partner, thinking about his past actions and how the bull kwami had turned out. He felt as if he could no longer contribute to the conversation.

After getting angry again, Tikki spoke up. "I know you've seen a lot of bad people out there, and so have I. Even I've had owners I wish never got a hold of me." She then turned to the door Marinette was hiding, and in that moment, she calmed down. "But the current Ladybug? I would gladly put my life on the line for her."

That was a strong choice of words for a kwami, one who has lived for countless eons, to make. To show that level of trust to Marinette was something that she'll always remember. Sadly, Kuumo wasn't quite as impressed.

"Where was your life when Nooroo needed it, Tikki?"

The moment of love and trust that Tikki created was brutally crushed in an instant, replaced with a long silence where no one was comfortable. For as much as Tikki has cared for Marinette, Kuumo made her feel as though she had turned back on the kwamis in Hawkmoth's possession. She tried to think of how to answer the question...but she couldn't.

As Tikki began to grieve on her self-reflection, thinking back to the friends she had lost over the years, Master Fu reminded himself of his own mistakes, who tuned his head away to try and not be seen. Even Wayzz, who wasn't even the focus of the meeting, grew weak from empathizing with both his partner and fellow kwamis.

Marinette felt tormented as well, but for different reasons. She didn't know what Kuumo had seen or how losing Nooroo affected him, she didn't know what choices Master Fu made in in the past, but what really got her was that she didn't even know how Tikki really felt about all of it. All Marinette could do was give sympathy to her partner, who had just said she would risk her life for her.

"Ladybug!" Kuumo said with a risen voice.

Marinette had hoped that she was forgotten, so hearing her hero name came as a surprise, particularly since she had her thoughts elsewhere.

"I'll give Tikki the benefit of the doubt and assume you're actually a decent human. You do have an impressive reputation after all." Kuumo praised, which was arguably the least expected thing for him to do. "But understand that I'm only doing what I think is right for my friends, and as it stands, you are an obstacle. I hope you will eventually make the right choice and aid us."

As Kuumo had finished saying what he had on his mind, and no one having anything else they even anted to say to him, the bull kwami flew up and made his way to the door. Without needing a signal, Kuumo's miraculous holder got up from his seat to make his exit.

"Thank you for your time." The young man said, bowing down his head to Master Fu as a sign of respect, something Kuumo never did.

Everyone wanted to speak up and stop Kuumo, but without any clear answers to his questions, all they could do was watch him exit Master Fu's shop, leaving their future with him uncertain. Master Fu would've loved to stop him, but because it couldn't be done without a pointless and unpredictable fight, the best thing to do for the time being was to let him leave.

"Master, what should we do?" Wayzz asked.

Fu let out a pained sigh, then spoke up with little confidence. "Marinette, I'm sorry that you had to witness all of that. You'd best be heading home."

"But what about that Kwami? And that guy? Can we really..." Marinette had concerns, but was cut off quickly.

"Leave him to me. He's my problem." Fu said in a frustrated tone. He tried to stay calm, but with so many mixed feelings, he didn't know how to properly convey them. "I'll figure it out, Marinette. I'll...I'll think of something."

With so much on Fu's mind, he didn't find it appropriate to say much more to Marinette, lest he scare her or the kwamis anymore. He felt as though he needed to be left alone, he said nothing more and walked out of the room to think over the situation. Ironically, by saying nothing else to Marinette, it made her more worried for the old man.

Wayzz would go on to speak with Fu, but not before addressing the last of the guests. "I'm sorry, girls. But you two really should leave for now. I'm sure we'll all figure something out together once Master calms down."

With morale so low, Marinette didn't feel any more confident in Wayzz's claim as Fu himself. After an otherwise good day as superhero, the possible threat of Kuumo's wrath made her worried about what would happen to the kwamis more than ever. Ideally, she would like to try and make friends with Kuumo and his miraculous holder. Whether that could happen or not was something she was willing to fight for.

"By the way, should I be worried that one of you guys caused The Plague?" Marinette asked Tikki.

"One concern at a time, Marinette. One concern at a time."


	3. Making A Friend

With the appearance of Taurus Red, different thoughts were flying around throughout Paris. Some people were relieved to know that a new superhero like Ladybug had arrived in the city. Others were a little concerned with how violent his debut was. Adrien Agreste, AKA Cat Noir, was a bit weary of him, but wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. However, Ladybug, AKA Marinette Dupain-Cheng, was less concerned with Taurus himself, but genuinely feared the kwami, Kuumo.

Still, Marinette was curious as to what the people who were close to her had to say about Taurus Red, the superhero, before making any final thoughts. After barely arriving on time for school, she took her seat in class to meet with everyone the day after the bank robbery. It turned out that the other day was a very big deal to everyone, and she was all ears.

"Well of course Ladybug didn't need that big brute's help." Chloe said out loud, though not to anyone in particular. "She could've stopped that truck all by herself.

"I heard Cat Noir blocked a barrage of bullets. Isn't that awesome?" Nino asked Adrian.

"I heard Sabrina's Dad was the real MVP of that caper. My Dad saw him judo flip a guy in the bank! I wish I was there." Kim said to Max.

Marinette heard a lot of people talking more about the robbery she and Cat Noir stopped, but no one sounded overly interested in Taurus Red. What Marinette did notice though was that out of everyone in the room, the only one that was not interested in the robbery was Sabrina. In fact, she didn't look as if she wanted to talk at all.

Deciding to join in as well, Marinette turned to Alya to hear her thoughts. "I heard Cat Noir told you about the new hero. What do you think of him?"

"Girl, the new guy sounds like a nut. Ladybug would never break that guy's arm like that. If I had to guess, he's probably someone who got akumatized."

"I don't know." Nino said, who spoke up from behind the girls. "It's not like Hawkmoth would stop to help Cat Noir or Ladybug. And if Cat Noir likes him, I do to."  
"Ehhh..." Adrian said in an unsure tone. "It sounded like Cat Noir was just okay with him. But yeah, I think we should see if he can do something else good before we judge him. Maybe Cat Noir and Ladybug can train him."

As she overheard the conversation, Chloe spoke up. "To be fair, not all heroes do well on their first day of the job. Not everyone can do it as flawlessly as I did after all."

The somewhat delusional Chloe felt a sense of pride from her few days as Queen Bee, though everyone else rolled their eyes over her vanity without calling her out for it. Everyone but Sabrina, would continued to ignore everyone.

"I just ask because I was worried about the guy he hurt." Marinette said.

"At least he broke a bad guy's leg." Nino answered. "That makes it a little better, doesn't it?"  
"No, it doesn't! Te robber stoon no chance against him, so that was just excessive force. Maybe if there was no other way, but he was already caught."

Marinette had a fair reason to be upset with Taurus Red. More so than others realized since she was Ladybug when it happened. Adrian would not only agree with Marinette, as he there as Cat Noir, but also admired her for, ironically, having the same general opinion as Ladybug. He wasn't as frustrated as Marinette, but Adrian still wanted to help his friend, even if it wasn't much.

"You know, you kind of sound like Ladybug there." Adrian said, which gave him a terrified reaction from Marinette. "Even if someone did something wrong, it's good that there are still some people who care for them. Not everyone can sympathize with everyone, so I'm glad to know someone who can."

"Oh...wow...th-thanks, Adrian." Marinette said, going from fearing that her identity was revealed to blushing to boy she loved. "That kind of makes me feel less crazy for feeling sorry for a bank robber."

"Well again, I'm sure Taurus Red just need some hero advice. I mean, did you see Sabrina's Dad. They got the film of him restraining the gang leader! Wasn't that awesome?"

"NO, IT'S NOT!"

While everyone was chatting away, the kids at least kept their indoor voices So when Sabrina, who had been quiet all morning, finally spoke up, and in such a angry tone no less, it completely rattled the room into silence. Even Chloe got scared of her friend, and she always kept her on a short leash.

"What's wrong?" Adrian asked. "All Adrian was saying was that your Dad was awesome yesterday. He actually fought alongside Cat Noir and Ladybug."

"He was a hostage! He could've died!" Sabrina yelled as she became more of a nervous wreck. "Ladybug I'm sure is bulletproof, but my Dad was in real danger! Even worse, they allowed him to be five inches away from a gun! What kind of hero would do that?"

This was all something both Marinette or Adrian could forget about sometimes. Even after helping the city or saving lives, people could still suffer from the aftermath of it all. In this case, Sabrina had a good reason for being upset about their actions the day before. What kind hero would allow someone put themselves in harm's way?

Adrian believed he had the answer. "Maybe Ladybug couldn't be the hero they needed. But it's because your father was willing to put himself in danger for the sake of others...that's what made him the real hero yesterday."

Everyone agreed with Adrian's definition of a hero, and it even gave Marinette something to think about.

But Sabrina...Sabrina became furious, slamming her fist on the table and stood up to face Adrian. "Easy for you to say. You practically have no father, so what would it matter to you if he died?"

Such cruel words caused the entire classroom to gasp, but before anyone could muster the words, Sabrina ran out of the room, holding back her tears and rage. Adrian was especially shocked because of the low-blow that he felt. He had no idea what to say in response, allowing her to leave and get away with what she said. He didn't know what to say.

Nino was the only one to speak up about. "Whoa. That was cold, dude."

* * *

This was very unfortunate to not just Adrian or Sabrina, but all of Paris, for their was only one who knew how to immediately respond to such negative emotion; Hawkmoth. He was ready in his secret lair to give Sabrina her aid, whether she liked it or not

"A loved one inches away from losing their life, but no one is there to empathize with her. I've had to feel that countless times. I know exactly how to handle such tormented soul."

Sensing Sabrina's tormented mind, Hawkmoth called for a butterfly into his hand, using power to turn it into the next of his countless little akumas. Only needing it to reach his target, he released it into Paris.

"Fly, my little akuma, and evilize her!" Hawkmoth ordered his Akuma, releasing his new creation to prepare for the creation of his next supervillain.

* * *

As ticked as Marinette was for the was Sabrina lashed out at Adrian, she still felt guilty since she was the one that allowed Roger to help with capturing the robbers, so she started to think that she was to blame for her behaviour. "I'll go get her. If class starts, tell Miss Bustier what happened." She said to Alya.

As she wanted to find Sabrina before class started, Marinette rushed out as quickly as she could to find her as quickly as possible. Looking down the hall, she fortunately saw Sabrina before she made a turn, leaving Marinette's sight. As Sabrina had a big head start, Marinette tried to make a dash to catch up.

A careless move, as it caused her to ram into another student when they stepped away from their locker, knocking both Marinette and the unsuspecting student to the ground, much to Marinette's embarrassment.

"Ow...can't believe I..."Marinette began to say, but after realizing she bumped into someone, she immediately forgot about Sabrina and got apologetic. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

The boy who she ran into started to get up, and started to apologize as well. "Sumimas-I mean, I'm sorry too. I was a bit tunnel visioned myself."

The boy wasn't overly mad at what happened, so there was a sense of relief from Marinette, though she still felt bad for making him knock his belongings out of his hands. Guilty, she began picking up what he dropped for him. In turn, after the boy got back to his feet, he lent out a hand to help Marinette back up.

This was when Marinette went from embarrassed to horrified.

She didn't know if it was fate, an accident, or just luck, but after grabbing the hand, Marinette got the chance to get a good look at the student she bumped into. Out of all of the people in the school she couldn't ran into, she found the young man she saw at Master Fu's home. The tall, skinny japanese boy that owned Kuumo's miraculous.

This is particularly awkward for Marinette, because while she knew the young man was Taurus Red, he didn't know that she was Ladybug. This was knowledge she wanted to keep to herself, but while she processed that decision, she ended up staring at him in silence for a long time.

"Is something wrong?" The young man asked.

"N-no. No, I'm alright." Marinette answered as she finally accepted his hand to help her up. Because of how tall the boy was, she got pulled up almost entirely from his strength, something she didn't really notice until she stood tall next to him. "Again, I'm very sorry for that. I've never met you before, so let me introduce myself properly this time. I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

This time, Marinette raised out her hand for the boy. Since she knew who he really was, believed that getting to know Kuumo's holder would give her inside on duo as a whole, and perhaps make working together and making compromises all the more easier. The boy was hesitant at first, but nonetheless accepted the handshake.

"Sabant-" He began to say, but he felt the need to rethink his own introduction. After picking his words, he greeted Marinette with a small smile. "I'm Kenshin Sabanto."

Marinette briefly recalled Kuumo calling Ken during the meeting at Master Fu's, so it gave her thought. "Kenshin, huh? How does Ken sound? Or Kenny?"

Making a complete one-eighty, he said in stern, but quiet tone..."My name is Kenshin!"

"Okay, okay! Sorry!" Marinette said in a fearful tone. "Look, I didn't mean to offend you or anything. I just thought a little nickname would've cute."

"I suppose." Kenshin answered, though he wasn't overly amused.

As Taurus Red, Marinette still wasn't supportive of his brutal nature and the goals of Kuumo. However, at that time, all Marinette was saw was young man she feared had been insulted in an ill-attempt to make friends. She momentarily forgot about Taurus Red and thought exclusively about Kenshin Sabanto.

"I'm sorry. I try to be responsible and orderly, but I'm always making mistakes, even something simple like getting your name. I guess I'm not always that good of a friend."

Then, at the worst possible time...

"MARINETTE!" Yelled Chloe as she walked down the hall. Then, after seeing she was with Kenshin, Chloe sighed in disbelief. "Well, I guess you have this guy while I have Adrian, but if you're not going to talk to Sabrina, then I guess I'll do it myself. Ugh, this is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous..."She continued to mutter as she walked away.

To talk about how she wasn't always a good friend, only to be followed up with Chloe personally supporting that statement, was quite an embarrassment for Marinette. She completely forgot that the reason she was in the halls was to help Sabrina, and then praised herself for being a good person.

But then, Kenshin showed what a good person he was. After watching Marinette blush and smile awkwardly from what he had witnessed, he did something Marinette hadn't seen him do yet. He started to smile, and shortly after, began to laugh. This made Marinette feel all the more embarrassed, but whether he was laughing with her or at her, she at least got him to laugh.

"Listen, class will start soon, but how about we talk again at lunch...Marionette, was it?" Kenshin asked.

"It's Marinette, and that sounds great. I'll see you then."

As they agreed to talk more after lunch and Chloe had already gone after Sabrina, there was nothing else left to do but for both Marinette and Kenshin to get to class. Marinette felt particularly proud of herself for getting good start on their friendship...for the most part.

"You're a good person for trying to get along with that boy." Tikki said as she flies up to Marinette. "But I don't think Kuumo will be so easy to compromise with."

"Just put your trust in me, Tikki." Marinette replied with confidence. "If Marinette can get along with him, then Ladybug should be able to do the same with Taurus Red."

"We, can hope."

Tikki wasn't the only kwami to speak after over hearing the first impressions. Once Kenshin got a good distance away from anyone watching, Kuumo flew up as well. Fortunately for Marinette, neither one suspected that she was Ladybug.

"Finally made a friend, huh?"

"A harmless luxury. I don't mind." Kenshin answered. "You don't mind, do you?"

"As long as you know your priorities, I really don't care." Kuumo replied as she showed an overall indifference to Marinette. "Speaking of priorities, I've been sensing Nooroo's power. There's work to be done."

"Understood." Without any hesitation, he followed Kuumo's command and made his way to the nearest exit. As he walked, he began to roll up his left sleeve, revealing the red wristband decorated with the horn-shaped miraculous jewel, worn underneath.

* * *

Outside, on the steps of the school's main entrance, Sabrina sat alone as she thought about what happened with her father, as well as the lack of empathy she got from her classmates. This highly vulnerable state made her a sitting duck for Hawkmoth's akuma, which was ready to fly down and akumatize her.

However, Chloe had exited the school and found Sabrina before the akuma made it's move, which gave the two friends the chance to talk. Of course, since it was Chloe Bourgeois of all people who came to comfort, one wouldn't expect much to get done.

"Hey." Chloe said in a soft tone.

But Sabrina didn't want to hear anything from her. "Go away."

Ignoring Sabrina's request, Chloe stepped down the stairs so she could sit down on the same step her friend was sitting on. As an unusual change of pace, Chloe decided to put in effort for her friend. "You're probably not going to say anything else, are you."

"Go away." Sabrina kept saying, all without even looking at Chloe.

"Ugh...utterly..." Chloe, being the short fuse as she was, struggled at first. but even before she found Sabrina, she had already decided on what to say to Sabrina, which made it easier for her to calm down. "Look, I know you're upset because your Dad did something really dumb and probably didn't think much about you when she did...I mean, when HE did it."

Sabrina still didn't look at Chloe face to face, but hearing that she at least acknowledged her problem, Sabrina at least looked Chloe's way.

"You were probably thinking that if he got shot or something and Ladybug couldn't do anything, or maybe if Cat Noir screwed it all up, you might've never see him again. You're probably more afraid of the idea of that happening since it obviously never happened."

"What, and you're saying that's nothing to be upset about?" Sabrina snapped.

"No. No, I'm not." Chloe answered, and she said it in the most sincere tone she could. "I know what it's like to have it happen. And you're right. It's not a good feeling to have. It's not something you should have to deal with."

As Chloe began to open up to Sabrina to justify her feelings, the negative emotions that she felt slowly started to wane. As a result, the akuma started to fly away from Sabrina before it could be noticed.

Hawkmoth took note of these events. "Strange. I'm sensing Miss. Bourgeois is there, yet I'm feeling less negativity. What the devil is going on? Get closer, my akuma!"

By Hawkmoth's orders, the akuma tried to get in closer o Sabrina, but the dying negative emotions pushed it back. Not only that, but the akuma had started to fly off in a different direction despite its effort to reach Sabrina.

Eventually, the akuma gave up entirely and began to fly to the school's roof, much to Hawkmoth's confusion. Right as Hawkmoth was ready to give up, a hand reached and grabbed the akuma. At first, Hawkmoth thought someone was voluntarily getting akumatized. What he didn't expect was for the akuma to be grabbed by the new hero, Taurus Red, who was waiting for the akuma.

With the akuma in one hand, and a simple pencil in the other, Taurus Red forced them both together to create the link. "Hawkmoth, I know what you really are. A mere thug who happened to come across a few miraculouses. We want them back!"

Shocked and outraged by the sudden order, Hawkmoth retorted. "Who is this? Who dares defies me?" While he at first talked to Taurus Red like he had already controlled him, he calmed himself shortly after to try and be his more manipulative self. "Nevermind. Yes, while I don't know how you know about them, I do have some miraculouses. And if you're willing help me get Ladybug's and Cat Noir's-"

"I am not making a deal. I am stating fact." Taurus Red interrupted. "Unlike Ladybug or Cat Noir, I am results oriented. I am here to retrieve Nooroo and Desuu. Until you show yourself and return what is not yours, I will see to it that you will not create and more supervillains."

With his message delivered, Taurus Red snapped the pencil he trapped the akuma in before Hawkmoth could get another word in. Then, much like with the last akuma, he grabbed hold of the newest one and crushed it within his mighty grip. Once more, at the cost of the unfortunate butterfly's life, the akuma was dealt with.

As Hawkmoth could simply make another akuma, Taurus Red looked down from the roof to look at how Sabrina and Chloe were doing. Fortunately, by the time his short conversation with Hawkmoth concluded, the girls below had finished theirs. Since Sabrina and Chloe were seen hugging before going back inside, it was safe to assume that no more akumas would fly by.

As satisfied as the bull hero was for stopping a threat that no one else would ever realize existed, there were multiple questions that bounced in Hawkmoth's head. Between someone other than Ladybug or Cat Noir knowing about the miraculouses, the unexpected confrontation, and the simple fact that his akuma was unexpectedly destroyed, he only asked one simple question as he stood alone in his lair.

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?"

* * *

**Author's note: Admittingly, I've been trying to finish this chapter sooner. Especially since there's a funny moment I've been looking forward to writing coming in the next chapter.**

**Oh well, what can ya do but take your time I guess.  
**


	4. The Lunch Hour

Several hours after the unexpected encounter between Marinette and Taurus Red's civilian identity, the first classes of the day had concluded and the lunch period had begun. By that point, Sabrina had apologized to Adrien for her behavior,and after that, it was just a regular day of class with nothing special happening.

Lunch was when things would go differently than usual, as Marinette planned to eat with Kenshin rather than her friends like normal. It was important for her to learn as much about the new hero as possible, and she found herself the chance to have a longer chat with him.

Naturally, this was when the universe decided to hate Marinette yhe instant she stepped in the cafeteria.

"Hey, Marinette!" Alya called out. "Want to eat with us? Room for one more."

What Alya tried to do was to get Marinette to sit at the same table, where she was sitting adjacent to Nino. The one spot where Marinette would have sat in was right next to where Adrien was sitting. Marinette would always be thrilled with any scenario where she could get close to Adrien, so when she had to turn the offer down, she ould scream internally.

"Just shoot your foot now and get it over with, Marinette." She whispered to herself before making a forced, awkward smile. "No thanks, I'm meeting a friend already."

While Adrien and Nino didn't think much of it, Alya was left speechless as she saw Marinette walk away from a chance to hang out with Adrien, especially when Alya created such a perfect opportunity.

Still, undeterred by her original plans, Marinette sat herself down with her lunch tray directly across where Kenshin had been sitting, who had been eating sandwiches from a bag he brought from home. He was focused on eating at the time, so he didn't realize right away that Marinette was with him.

"Oh, hi again. Marinette, right?"

"Yes, yes. I was hoping you still wanted to eat together."

Waving his at the seat Marinette already sat in, Kenshin didn't objected and allowed Marinette to sit with him. As Ladybug and Taurus Red were in the same room with few distractions and plenty of time to do nothing but talk, step one to teaming up was already accomplished.

The problem was that step two, which was to actually engage in conversation, was a bit tricky. Marinette recalled this from when Kenshin was at Master Fu's, but Kenshin proved to have been very quiet in nature, as he didn't say a word for about a minute after Marinette took her seat. Since he wasn't willing to open up on his own, Marinette had to speak first.

"So, are you new? I don't think I've seen you around school before." Marinette asked, who decided on to start with a blunt question.

"Actually, I recently moved to Paris. This is my first day at school here." Kenshin answered.

"Oh? What made you want to move to Paris?"

"Well, the details are a bit private,but I've got some goals in mind. I even spent a year learning your language just to be ready." Kenshin explained. "In fact, if all goes well, I hope to spend the rest of my life here."

"Oh, well welcome to your new home. I promise Paris is an amazing city to be lucky enough to live in." Marinette said with a big, happy smile, though she kept a frown deep down since she knew what he came to Paris for. She decided to continue being the one to start a topic. "So how long have you been here in Paris?"

"A about a week. Had to wait until I was settled in before I could start my classes. I should be all set now."

She was pleased that she was able to ge Kenshin to talk, but it bothered her that she could only get simple answers before he would go back to focusing on his lunch. She wasn't very good at small talk, so she wasn't sure what more to say without sounding weird. She needed a way to start a conversation that could let her dive into Kenshin's mind.

"Girl, who's your friend over here?"

Fortunately for Marinette, the perfect group of people came to do exactly what she wants. Alya, Nino, and Adrien had all picked up their lunches to move to the table Marinette and Kenshin were sharing, all of whom were eager to meet the new student. Alya was especially interested since her friend chose to meet with him over the boy she's crazy for.

"Whoa, you're a tall dude." Nino said as he sat next to Kenshin.

"Well, I am 17." Kenshin answered.

Alya raised an eyebrow as she sat next to Marinette, who made sure she was across from Nino. "17, huh? I never realized you were into older boys, Marinette."

"W-w-wh-WHAT?" Marinette stammered as she looked at Alya, then looked at Kenshin, then feared Adrien, who she just realized had taken his seat right next to he, would've gotten the wrong idea. "No, no, he's just a friend. A good friend of mine."

"We met just a few hours ago." Kenshin mentioned, much to Marinette's embarrassment.

This gave the group a good laugh, even if it was at Marinette's expense. Still, even if they were laughing at her and not with her, it still meant that Kenshin was getting along since he finally cracked a smile after hearing everyone else. In her opinion, she took one for the team. At the very least, it was all in good fun.

It also pleased Marinette to know that Kenshin was quickly making friends with her friends. Adrien even started a little chat with him, getting more out of Kenshin then she likely would've.

"So, you think you might be interested in fencing then?" Adrien asked.

"Not really interested, thank you. I might join the school's wrestling club, though." Kenshin answered.

"Oh, that's great. Our friend Kim can introduce you to it. He's in...pretty much every sports club."

"I'll think about it."

As Adrien was finding ways to get along with Kenshin, a certain someone saw from across the cafeteria that he was hanging out with Marinette and a new student, much to her displeasure. With haste, she charged from her seat to grab Adrien from behind.

"ADRIKINS! Why are you sitting with these losers?" Chloe asked. "One of them is a complete stranger."

Chloe's sudden appearance annoyed Marinette right away. "Oh God no, please don't get him akumatized on his first day." She quietly said to herself, praying Chloe wouldn't ruin everything.

"Oh, Chloe, good timing." Adrien said, as he had a more positive attitude than Marinette. "Chloe, this is Ken. Ken, meet Chloe."

"It's Kenshin." He clarified.

Chloe, being in a selfish mood, didn't particularly cared about meeting someone new and just wanted to be with Adrien for lunch. "Okay, sorry for crashing Kenny's part..."

"Kenshin!" He repeated.

"Kenford...but I already prepared a special lunch for me and my little Adrikins, so if you don't mind and excuse us..." She said as she wrapped her arms around Adrien's. "We only get so much time for lunch after all."

"Well, why don't you come and join us? You can get to know Ken with us." Adrien suggested.

While it was all fine that Adrien was staying calm and reasonable with Chloe around, it was the only reason Marinette had yet to speak up and talk back to Chloe. If Chloe had talked to her directly at any point, she likely would've snapped. Even Alya and Nino were losing their appetite as Chloe harassed. Kenshin, on the other hand, mostly ignored Chloe and continued eating a new sandwich.

"Okay, look, I'll prove to you how good I am with people." Chloe said to Adrien. She then turned her attention to Kenshin and began saying things that would likely get a normal person akumatized. "From looking at you, I can tell: You're the type of person who uses people...there's no one at this table you like anyway...and to be honest, you don't look all that happy with your life."

As Marinette feared, Chloe acted very Chloe-like at a time when she wanted to get to know the best side of Kenshin. Alya, Nino, and even Adrien thought Chloe was going too far. Marinette was ready tell Chloe off before she could upset Kenshin. However, much to everyone's surprise, Kenshin, simply smiled and shook his head.

"I'm afraid you only got one right, Miss." Kenshin said, who wanted to play Chloe's game. "Let me have a turn at this, because I think I know people very well too. I've believe: You're the kind of person who cries themselves to sleep sometimes...you may very well NOT be a natural blond...and because I could hear you praising Ladybug from all the way over here, I believe you have a major crush on her."

This was followed by complete silence, not just from Marinette's table, but from the entire cafeteria. They didn't realized it until Kenshin talked back, but the entire room was watching the entire conversation, and when anyone has the guts to stand up and talk back to Chloe with such savagery, it gets noticed.

Sabrina, who was sitting at a nearby table, spoke up. "Wow. He got two out three right."

"You be quiet!" Chloe yelled to Sabrina.

Infuriated by Kenshin's back talk, Chloe decided to save her alone time with Adrien for another time and stormed off. As she ignored everyone around her, she didn't notice that everyone but Sabrina, Adrien, and Kenshin were all giggling from what had transpired. As this made a temper tantrum that's was normal for Chloe, there was no worries for her to attract an akuma, much to Marinette's relief, but still to Adrien's concern.

"Wait for me!" Sabrina said in a panic. "Sorry again about this morning, Adrien. Bye!"

Although Adrien was upset about his friend storming off while in such a bad mood, Kenshin did at least get a positive first impression by everyone else who saw what happened. Chloe may not have been a very popular person, very few ever grow the spine needed to talk back to her like Kenshin did. Alya and Nino were at least put into a good mood because of it.

"Haha. Nice dude." Nino said as he patted Kenshin's shoulder. "I'm sure she'll make you regret making her mad later, but for now, that was great."

"I'll talk to her later when she calms down." Adrien said. "She can actually be really nice once you get to know her."

Kenshin simply shrugged at what Adrien, as he didn't care one way or another how Chloe felt. With the room quiet once again, he resumed eating his lunch like before. Still, the whole event gave Marinette something to think about, as if there wasn't already something to be concerned with.

_"Will use people...likes no one here at this table...or isn't happy with his life..i"_ Marinette thought, repeating what Chloe said before to herself. _"Which one was correct?"_

As Marinette pondered about what she did and didn't know about Kenshin, Tikki took the time to wander off from Marinette by flying under the tables in the cafeteria. She was particularly cautious at the time because even though she avoided human sight like normally, she feared that she would get a run in with Kuumo and potentially reveal Ladybug's true identity.

As Tikki reached a wall, she phased through, flew up to the ceiling unnoticed, and made then flew back out to fly above a support beam, no longer phased out, but still out of people's sight. Once there, she found Plagg, who was already sitting on the beam, watching the students below.

"Hey there, Sugarcube. Came to eat with me today?" Plagg asked. "Don't have any extra camembert though. I'm down to my last three pieces."

Tikki took a seat next to her close friend, where she got a birds-eye view of the three heroes of Paris. With nothing but concerns on her mind, she went straight to the point. "I talked to Kuumo Yesterday."

In a shock, Plagg nearly dropped his cheese, having to bite and swallow an airborne slice of his camembert in a quick, yet painful gulp. After realizing what quick, yet painful experience transpired... "That's going to hurt later."

"Plagg, I'm serious. I'm really concerned about what Kuumo is up to."

"Well, you know him. He's always been more of a free spirit. He likes doing what he wants. Whatever he wants to do, we really can't do much but support him. Who knows. Maybe he'll beat us to Nooroo and Duusu like he said."

Tikki shook her head, as it was clear that Plagg didn't understand the situation. "You haven't seen him yet. He's way different from when he broke off from the rest of us. Even worse, I think his owner follows everyone of Kuumo's commands, so there's no telling what he'll do."

"Hmm...he always did want his freedom. Funny that he went ahead and found himself a owner." Plagg said as he noticed the odd detail about Kuumo.

"Most of us had to wait in the miracle box and wait until someone needs us." Tikki reminded. "Since Kuumo is free, he's taking a more proactive approach. He wants to either get our lost friends back...or for the two of us to finally combine our powers. He wants us to make a wish."

"YOU MEAN WE CAN-?"

"No, we are NOT wishing for all of the cheese in the world."

"Aww..." As disappointed Plagg was, it at least gave him a better idea as to why Tikki was as worried as she was. "What could he wish for? Wishing for our lost pals to come back would just make us lose others in exchange, right? He should know that."

"Agreed. And whatever he wants, he must've put a lot of thought into it. But I only got to speak with him for a little while...I don't understand what's been going on in his mind...I-I don't think I want to know what his wish is." Tikki explained, shivering in fear about her former friend's mind. The thought about Kuumo's behaviour gave her goosebumps that Plagg could easily see. "I haven't said this my owner yet...but I'm scared of him right now.

The whole time, Plagg was mostly inconsiderate with Tikki, as he thought very little about Kuumo's reappearance. But seeing the despair in his friend made him realize how serious the situation was and how stressful it has been for Tikki, and things had only just begun. He hadn't spoken with Kuumo yet, but Plagg decided to trust his close friend just because of her reaction

To comfort Tikki, Plagg scooted over to wrap his tiny hand around her shoulder to warm her up. He also passed one of his last two pieces of cheese to further comfort her. "Relax, Sugarcube. As long as we have Ladybug and Cat Noir as our owners, no wishes will be granted-that sounded terrible after saying it out loud."

Plagg's poor choice of words was more helpful than he expected, as it made Tikki laugh lightly. At the very least, she stopped he shaking.

"That's more like it." Plagg said with relief. "The four of us make a stronger team than Kuumo and...and...whoever the heck he's partnered with."

"Oh, that..." At first, Tikki considered sharing Taurus Red's true identity, but she quickly decided to save that information for a more appropriate time. "Nevermind. Though now that you mentioned it, it would help if all four of us were on the same page regarding about what to do. Ladybug and Cat Noir can't meet unless their transformed, after all."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out." Tikki insisted. "But you're right. We may have to find a way for all four of us to talk about this."

Feeling a sense of comfort after talking with Plagg, Tikki felt relaxed enough to finally take a bite out of the cheese she was giving, creating a moment of silence for the two kwamis to do nothing relax for a moment, something that Tikki desperately needed, although Plagg was arguably indulged with it.

But, silence isn't something that can last, and what broke it for the kwamis was the faint sound of a siren going off outside the school, which got louder and louder, but soon after got quieter and quieter. Curious about it, Plagg phased through the roof to check it out before the siren went too far. After a short absence, he returned to Tikki.

"What's going on?" Tikki asked.

Plagg sighed. "Work, probably. It was a fire truck, and it looks like there's a lot of smoke a few blocks down. Maybe we can let the firemen handle it?"

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind some heros helping. Get your butt moving."

Upon Tikki's order, Plagg reluctantly accepted it and made his way back to the ground floor with her, both making sure to not be seen by anyone on their way down. After getting to the table where Marinette and Adrien were sitting, they parted ways. After returning to their owners, they each got their owners attention and quietly urge them to leave the room.

"Uhh, be right back. I need to go to the washroom." Marinette said, which cut he time with Kenshin short.

"Me too. I need to make a phone call to my father." Adrien said, as he found it to be a reasonable excuse.

Marinette and Adrien both quickly got up and ran out of the Cafeteria, each leaving through a different exit to avoid the other so as to keep their alter-ego secret. Once they left, Kenshin decided to get up and leave as well.

"Well, it was nice meeting you guys, but I'm going to have a little walk." Kenshin said to Alya and Nino. "I still need to learn my way around here."

Leaving Alya and Nino to be the last two at their table, something they really didn't mind at all, Kenshin grabbed his lunch bag and made his way out the Cafeteria. Once outside, he looked around to make sure no one was around. Lucky for him, Adrien had already ran off to answer the hero call, leaving Kenshin all alone.

"It's clear. What did you need?" Kenshin asked as he took a ripped piece of one of his sandwiches and tossed it in the air.

Kuumo in turn flew up and grabbed the sandwich piece. "I checked on something after hearing a noise. Seems a fire has broken out nearby."

"That doesn't seem like something you're usually concerned with."

"The fire itself? Not at all." Kuumo said as he took a bite of the sandwich, as he showed no worries for the emergency. "Some dumb human probably dropped a cigarette or something, but that's not important. Since it looked bad way over here, I'm betting Ladybug and Cat Noir will answer it. If so, it will make for a good, stress-free chance to watch them in action."

"What should I do when we meet up with them?" Kenshin asked

"Help them, watch them, burn them, I really don't care. What's important is that specifically you know what they're capable of. From this point on, you have to be my lips. So make sure you make a good impression." Kuumo order, though after thinking about what he said, he added one more detail. "On second thought, don't burn them."

"Understood."

Finished with his lunch, Kenshin followed Kuumo's order without any further questions and ran to the first exit he could find, much like what Marinette and Adrien did. Although his motives for responding to the emergency wasn't noble by itself, it was still a time for the heroes to take action, and would mark for another chance for both sides to learn about the other.

* * *

**Author's note: Had a bit of a writer's block on this one, but the next chapter will have some superhero stuff, which should be a bit more motivating for me. Hoping I don't get crap for it though, because what will happen in chapter 5 is something I had decided on a long time ago and I'm happy with how I plan to have it go down.**


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